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ASPECTS
OF THE MIRACULOUSNESS OF THE
QURAN’S ELOQUENCE
Purity
of style and word order
There
is extraordinary eloquence
and purity of style in the
word order or composition of
the Quran. This eloquence
and purity of style is
clearly explained throughout
Isharat al-I'jaz (Signs of
Miraculousness). Just as the
second, minute, and hour
hands of a clock each
complete and are fitted to
each other in precise
orderliness, so too do every
word and every sentence and
indeed the whole Quran
complete and fit each other.
Whoever
wishes, may look at the text
and see for himself the
extraordinary eloquence in
the Quran’s word order.
Here, by way of illustrating
the orderly composition of
sentences, I will mention
only a few examples.
In order to indicate
the severity of God’s
punishment, the
clause, If but a
breath from the
torment of Your Lord
touches them (al-Anbiya’,
21.46), points to
the least amount or
slightest element of
that torment. That
is, the clause as a
whole is to express
this slightness,
therefore all its
parts should
reinforce that
meaning.
Thus,
the words If but
(lein)
signify uncertainty
and therefore
implies slightness
(of the punishment).
The verb massa
means to touch
slightly, and
therefore it too
signifies
slightness. Nafhatun
(a breath) is merely
a puff of air.
Grammatically, it is
a derived form of
the word used to
express ‘singleness’
which again
underlies the
littleness. The tanwin
(double n) at the
end of nafhatun
indicates
indefiniteness and
suggests that it is
as slight and
insignificant as
cannot be known. The
partitive min
implies a part or a
piece, thus
indicating paucity.
The word adhab
(torment or
punishment) is light
in meaning compared
to nakal
(exemplary
chastisement) and iqab
(heavy penalty), and
denotes a lesser
punishment or
torment than is
available to one’s
Lord. The use of Rabb
(Lord, Provider,
Sustainer) which
suggests affection,
instead of (for
example)
Overwhelming,
All-Compelling or
Avenger, also
expresses
slightness.
Finally,
the clause means
that if so slight a
breath of torment or
punishment has such
an affect, one
should reflect how
severe the Divine
chastisement might
be. We see in this
short clause how its
parts are related to
each other and add
to the meaning. This
example concerns the
words chosen and the
purpose in choosing
them.
Another example:
The
parts of the
sentence, They
give as sustenance
out of what We have
bestowed on them (as
livelihood) (al-Baqara,
2.3) point to five
of the conditions
that make
alms-giving
acceptable to God.
In
order to make his
alms-giving
acceptable to God, a
believer must give
out of his
sustenance such
amount that he will
not have to need to
receive alms
himself. Out of in
out of what
expresses this
condition.
He must not
transfer to the
needy from another’s
goods, but he must
give out of his
own belongings.
The phrase, what
We have bestowed
on them points
to this condition.
The meaning is ‘Give
(to sustain life)
out of what We
have given you (to
sustain your life)’.
He must not remind
the one to whom he
has given of the
kindness he has
done to him. We
in We have
bestowed
indicates this
condition, for it
means: ‘It is I
who have bestowed
on you the
livelihood out of
which you give to
the poor as
sustenance.
Therefore, by
giving to a
servant of Mine
out of My
property, you
cannot put him
under obligation.’
He must give to
such a one who
will spend it for
his livelihood. It
is not acceptable
to give to those
who will dissipate
it. The phrase They
give as sustenance
points to this
condition.
He must give for
God’s sake, We
have bestowed on
them states
this condition. It
means: ‘Essentially,
it is My property
out of which you
give, therefore
you must give in
My Name.’
Together with
those conditions,
the word what
in out of what
signifies that
whatever God
bestows on a man
is included in the
meaning of ‘sustenance’
or ‘livelihood’.
Therefore, one
must give not only
out of one’s
goods, but also
out of whatever he
has: a good word,
an act of help, a
piece of advice,
and teaching are
all included in
the meaning of rizq
(sustenance) and sadaqa
(alms). Since
there is
generalization in
it, the sentence
as a whole also
suggests this
meaning.
Together with the
five conditions,
this short
sentence contains
and suggests a
broad range of the
meanings of alms
and offers it to
the understanding.
The word order of
the Quran’s
sentences has many
aspects of a
similar kind, and
the words have a
wide range of
relationships with
one another.
Extraordinary beauty and
comprehensiveness of its
meaning
There
is a wonderful eloquence in
the meanings of the Quran.
Consider the following
example:
All
that is in the heavens
and the earth
glorifies God; and He
is the All-Honored and
Mighty, the All-Wise.
(59:24)
In
order fully to relish the
eloquence in the meanings of
this verse, imagine yourself
to be living in the wild
desert during the age of the
pre-Quranic ignorance and
savagery. Then, when
everything was enveloped by
the darkness of ignorance
and heedlessness and wrapped
up in the evil of ‘lifeless’
nature, you suddenly hear
from the heavenly tongue of
the Quran such verses as,
All that is in the heavens
and the earth glorifies God
or The seven heavens and the
earth and those in them
glorify Him (al-Isra’,
17.44). You will see how, in
the minds of those hearing
it, those corpse-like
entities that had lain
motionless are raised to
purposeful existence at the
sound of All that is in the
heavens and the earth
glorifies God, and being so
raised, begin reciting God’s
Names. How at the cry and
light of glorifies Him, the
stars, which had been
lifeless lumps of fire in
the dark skies, each appear
in the understanding of
those who hear the verse, as
a wisdom-displaying word in
the recitation of the sky
and a truth-showing light,
and the land and sea of the
earth as tongues of praise
and each plant and animal as
a word of glorification.
The
Quran has unique,
original styles
The
Quran has unique,
original styles. Truly, the
styles of the Quran are
both novel and original, and
amazing, and convincing. It
imitates nothing and no one,
nor can it be imitated. Its
styles still preserve their
originality, freshness and
‘bloom of youth’. To
cite a few examples:
Now
I shall make a brief mention
of the Quranic styles
followed in its suras,
aims, verses, sentences and
phrases, and words.
For example, if
studied carefully,
it will be seen how
the sura al-Naba’
describes the Last
Day, the
resurrection of the
dead, Paradise and
Hell, in such an
original and unique
style that it
convinces the heart
of the fact that
each of the Divine
acts and the works
of Divine Lordship
in this world prove
the coming and all
the aspects of the
Hereafter. Since it
would be lengthy to
explain the style of
the whole sura,
I will just mention
a few points of it.
At
the start of the sura,
to prove the Day of
Judgment, it says:
‘I have made the
earth a beautiful
cradle spread out
for you, and the
mountains bulwarks
of your houses and
lives full of
treasures. I have
created you in
pairs, loving and
familiar with each
other, I have made
the night a coverlet
for your repose, the
daytime the arena in
which to gain your
livelihood, and the
sun an illuminating
and heating lamp,
and from the clouds
I send down water as
if they were a
spring producing the
water of life. I
create easily and in
a short time from
the one, same water
all the flowering
and fruit-bearing
things which bear
all your sustenance.
Since this is so,
the Last Day, which
is the Day of Final
Judgment, awaits
you. It is not
difficult for Us to
bring about that
Day.’ Following in
the same strain, the
sura
implicitly proves
that on the Last Day
the mountains will
be set in motion and
become as a mirage,
the heavens will be
rent asunder, Hell
made ready, and the
people of Paradise
given gardens and
orchards. It means:
‘Since He does all
these things before
your eyes on the
earth and mountains,
He will do their
likes in the
Hereafter.’ That
means, the mountains
at the beginning of
the sura have
some concern with
the mountains of the
Hereafter, and the
gardens, with the
gardens coming at
the end of the sura
and those in the
Hereafter. Consider
other points from
the same perspective
and see what an
elevated style the sura
has!
Another example:
And
the sun runs its course to a
resting place determined .
(36:38)
The
expression runs
its course is a
noble image. By
reminding us of the
systematic,
magnificent, free
acts and operations
of Divine Power in
the alternation of
day and night, and
summer and winter,
it makes the might
and greatness of the
Maker understandable
and turns the
attention toward the
messages of the
Eternally
Besought-of-All
inscribed on the
pages of the seasons
by the Pen of Power.
It also makes known
the Wisdom of the
Creator.
Through
its use of the word
‘lamp’ in He
has made the sun a
lamp (71:16),
the Quran opens a
window on a meaning
such as this: This
world is a palace
with the things in
it being the food
and other
necessities of life
prepared for man and
other living beings.
The sun is a lamp
serving to
illuminate this
palace. By making
the magnificence of
the Maker and the
favors of the
Creator
comprehensible in
this way, the
sentence provides a
proof for God’s
Unity and declares
that the sun (which
the polytheists of
the time imagined to
be the most
significant and
brightest deity) is
a lifeless object, a
lamp subdued for the
benefit of living
beings. In the word
‘lamp’, the
verse signifies the
mercy of the Creator
in the might and
greatness of His
Lordship, reminds us
of His favor in the
vastness of His
Mercy, suggests His
munificence in the
magnificence of His
Sovereignty, and in
doing that, it
proclaims His
Oneness and teaches:
‘A lifeless,
subjected lamp can
in no way be worthy
of worship.’ Also
in the same word, by
indicating the
systematic, amazing
acts of Almighty God
in the alternation
of night and day,
and winter and
summer, it suggests
the vastness of the
Power of the Maker
Who is absolutely
independent in the
execution of His
Lordship.
Thus,
the verse deals with
the sun and moon in
a way to turn the
attention of mankind
to the pages of day
and night, and
summer and winter,
and to the lines of
events inscribed on
them. The Quran
mentions the sun in
the name of not the
sun itself but the
One Who has made it
shining. Nor does it
talk about the
physical nature of
the sun, which is of
no use for man.
Rather, it draws the
attentions to the
sun’s essential
duties which are:
the sun functions as
a wheel or spring
for the delicate
order of Divine
creation and making,
and a shuttle for
the harmony of
Divine design in the
things that the
Eternal Designer
weaves with the
threads of night and
day.
When
you compare other Quranic
words with these, you can
see that while it may seem a
commonplace word, each
functions as a key to the
treasury of fine meanings.
In
sum, it is because of the
vividness and
extraordinariness of the Quran’s
styles that sometimes a
Bedouin would be entranced
by a single phrase, and
prostrate himself without
being a Muslim. On one
occasion, on hearing the
sentence meaning Proclaim
openly what you are
commanded (al-Hijr,
15.94), a Bedouin did make
prostration. When asked if
he had become a Muslim, he
answered: ‘No, but I have
prostrated myself before the
eloquence of that phrase.’
Extraordinary
fluency and purity in the
wording of the Quran
There
is an extraordinary fluency
and purity in the wording of
the Quran. As it is
extraordinarily eloquent in
the style of expressing the
meaning, so also it is
wonderfully fluent and pure
in wording, in the
arrangement of words. It is
a proof of its purity and
fluency in wording that even
if recited thousands of
times it does not bore the
sense, rather, it gives
pleasure. A little child can
memorize it easily. A man
gravely ill, albeit he may
be troubled by a few words
of ordinary speech beside
him, will feel relieved and
comforted on hearing it. Its
recitation gives to the ear
and mind of one who is in
the throes of death, the
same taste and pleasure as
that which the water of Zamzam
leaves in his mouth and on
his palate.
Once
the Quraysh, the clan of the
Prophet, upon him be peace
and blessings, sent one of
its leaders who was
well-versed in eloquence, to
listen to the Quran. On
his return, he remarked: ‘That
word has such a sweetness
and pleasure that no human
tongue can resemble it. I
know poets and soothsayers
very well. The Quran is
not like any of their works.
However, we should describe
it as a sorcery so that our
followers may not be
deceived in it.’ So, even
its most hardened enemies
could not help but admire
the fluency and eloquence of
the Quran.
It
would take too long to
explain the factors that
bring about the fluency and
extraordinariness it the
arrangement of the words in
the verses, sentences and
phrases of the Quran. One
who looks at the arrangement
of the letters in the verse
translated as
Then,
after grief, He sent
down security for you,
as slumber overcame a
party of you. While
another party lay
troubled on their own
account, moved by
wrong suspicions of
God, the suspicion of
ignorance. They said:
‘Have we any part in
the affair?’ Say:
‘The affair wholly
belongs to God.’
They hide within
themselves [a thought]
which they reveal not
to you, saying: ‘Had
we had any part in the
affair we would not
have been slain here.’
Say: ‘Even though
you had been in your
houses, those
appointed to be slain
would have gone forth
to the places where
they were to fall.
[All this was] in
order that God might
try what is in your
breasts and prove what
is in your hearts. God
knows what is hidden
in the breasts [of
men]. (3:154)
will
see the luster of the
miraculousness brought about
by the extraordinary
arrangement of the letters.
This arrangement, the subtle
relationship between them,
the delicate harmony and
composition in the verse,
shows with the certainty of
two times two equals four
that the verse can in no way
be the work of human mind.
Superiority,
power, sublimity, and
magnificence
in the expressions of
the Quran
There
is a superiority, power,
sublimity, and magnificence
in the expressions of the
Quran. As there is a
fluency, eloquence and
purity in its composition
and word order, with
eloquence in its meanings,
and originality and
uniqueness in its styles,
there is evident excellence
in its explanations. Truly,
in all categories of
expression and in different
levels and varieties of
address including
encouragement, dissuasion,
praise, censure,
demonstration, guidance, and
explanation and overcoming
in argument, the expositions
of the Quran are of the
highest degree. For example:
Of
numerous examples of the
verses or chapters which
exhort and encourage people
to do good deeds, the
expressions in the sura
al-Insan are most
pleasing, like the water of
a river of Paradise, and
flow like the water flowing
from an abundant spring.
They are also as sweet as
the fruits of Paradise and
as beautiful as the garments
of houris.
Aimed
at deterrence and threat,
the Quranic explanations
at the beginning of the sura
al-Ghashiya, produce an
effect like lead boiling in
the ears of the misguided
people, and fire burning in
their brains, and zaqqum
scalding their palates, and
Hellfire assaulting their
faces, and a bitter, thorny
tree in their stomachs. That
an ‘official’ like Hell
charged with torturing and
tormenting and which
demonstrates the Divine
Being’s threats, roars and
nearly bursts with rage and
fury (67:7-8) shows how
dreadful and awesome that
Being’s powers of
deterrence and threat are.
Of numerous
examples of censure
and restraint,
consider the sentence
which can be
translated as follows:
Would
any of you like to eat the
flesh of his dead brother ?(49:12)
It
induces in the heart
an aversion to
backbiting,
reprimanding the
backbiter with six
degrees of reprimand
and restraining him
from it with six
degrees of severity.
As
is known, the hamza
at the beginning (of
the Arabic original of
the sentence) is
interrogative. This
sense of interrogation
penetrates all the
words of the sentence
like water, so that
each word carries an
interrogative accent.
Thus, through the hamza,
it asks: ‘Do you
have no
intelligence, with
which you ask and
answer, and can
discriminate
between good and
bad, that you fail
to perceive how
abominable this
thing is?’
Through the second
word in the
original, which
means like,
it asks: ‘Is it
that your heart,
with which you
love and hate, is
so corrupted that
you love a most
repugnant thing
like backbiting?’
Third, through the
phrase, any of
you, it asks:
‘What has
happened to your
sense of social
relationship and
civilization,
which derive their
liveliness from
collectivity, that
you dare to accept
something so
poisonous to
social life?’
Fourth, through
the phrase, to
eat the flesh,
it asks: ‘What
has happened to
your sense of
humanity that you
are tearing your
friend to pieces
with your teeth
like a wild
animal?’
Fifth, through the
phrase, of his
brother, it
asks: ‘Do you
have no human
tenderness, no
sense of kinship,
that you sink your
teeth into some
innocent person to
whom you are tied
by numerous links
of brotherhood? Or
do you have no
intelligence that
you bite into your
own limbs with
your teeth in such
a senseless
fashion?’
Sixth, through the
word, dead,
it asks: ‘Where
is your
conscience? Is
your nature so
corrupt that you
can commit so
disgusting an act
as eating the
flesh of your dead
brother who is
deserving of much
respect?’
That
means, slander and
backbiting are
repugnant to the
intelligence and the
heart, to humanity and
conscience, to human
nature and religious
and national
brotherhood. You see,
then, that verse
condemns backbiting in
six degrees in a very
concise and most
precise manner and
restrains man from it
in six miraculous
ways.
Out of numerous
examples in the category
of proving and
demonstration,
consider the verse:
Look, therefore,
at the prints of God’s
mercy: how He
revives the earth
after its death.
Indeed, it is He who
is the Reviver of
the Dead in the same
way, and He is
all-powerful over
all things.
(30:50)
The
verse is so wonderful
in proving the
resurrection of the
dead and removing
doubts about it that
no better proof is
conceivable.
In
raising to life again
in every spring most
perfectly and without
any confusion hundreds
of thousands of plants
and animals which died
in the previous autumn
and winter and stand
or lie mixed with one
another, God Almighty
shows hundreds of
thousands of most
perfect and clear
examples of
resurrection. The
verse states that for
the One Who does all
these things it is not
difficult at all to
raise the dead to life
after the destruction
of the world. Since it
is the stamp of the
One of Unity to
inscribe on the page
of the earth hundreds
of thousands of
species with the Pen
of His Power one
within the other
without confusion,
together with proving
Divine Oneness like
the sun, the verse
demonstrates the
resurrection of the
dead as evidently as
the rising and setting
of the sun. By the
adverb ‘how’, the
Qur’an refers to the
manner or way of the
resurrection, and
describes it in detail
in many other suras.
Also in the sura
beginning with Qaf.
By the Glorious Qur’an
(50:1), the Qur’an
proves the
Resurrection in such
a brilliant,
beautiful, lovely,
and elevated manner
of expression that
it convinces as
certainly as the
coming of spring.
Consider: in reply
to the unbelievers’
denial of the
quickening to life
of the bones rotted
away, it declares in
a manner like the
flowing of water:
Have
they not then
observed the sky
above them, how we
have constructed
it and beautified
it, and how there
are no rifts
therein? And the
earth We have
spread out, and
have flung firm
hills therein, and
have caused every
lively kind to
grow therein, a
sight and a
reminder for every
penitent servant.
And We send down
from the sky
blessed water
whereby We give
growth to gardens
and the grain of
crops, and lofty
date-palms with
ranged clusters,
provision for men;
and therewith we
quicken a dead
land. Even so will
be the
resurrection of
the dead.
(50:6-11)
Truly,
the manner of its
exposition flows like
water, glitters like
stars and, just as
dates give to the
body, it gives to the
heart, both pleasure
and delight and
nourishment.
Again, among the
most delightful
examples of the
category of proof
and demonstration,
it says:
Ya
Sin. By the Wise
Qur’an.
Certainly you are
among those sent
(as Messengers of
God).
(36:1-3)
The
oath in the verse
points out that the
proof of Muhammad’s
Messengership, upon
him be peace and
blessings, is certain
and true to the degree
that it is paid so
much respect and honor
as to be sworn
by. By this, it means:
‘You are the
Messenger for there is
the Quran in your
hand. The Quran is
the truth and the word
of God. For there is
true wisdom in it and
the seal of
miraculousness on it.’
Another concise
and miraculous
example of the
category of proof
and demonstration:
(Man)
said: ‘Who will
revive these bones
when they have
rotted away?’
Say: ‘He will
revive them who
built them at the
first; He has
absolute knowledge
of every creation .(36:77-8)
If
somebody tells you
about one who has
reassembled a huge,
dispersed army in one
day that that person
could gather, through
a trumpet call, a
battalion that has
been dispersed for
rest, and line them up
again in their
previous positions,
and you object,
saying, ‘I don’t
believe that’, you
know what an
unreasonable, absurd
denial that would be.
Similarly, while being
dispersed in the air,
water and earth, an
All-Powerful,
All-Knowing One
assembles the
particles of all
living beings through
the command of ‘Be,
and it is’ and with
perfect orderliness
and the balance of
wisdom, and makes from
them bodies with the
most delicate senses
and keenest faculties.
Every year, every
spring, He creates
hundreds of thousands
of animate species
like armies on the
earth. Is it, then,
reasonable to deem it
unlikely and ask how
that One can assemble
through a blow of
Israfil’s Trumpet
the parts and
particles which were
once the essential
building-blocks of the
same body in close
co-operation and
relationship with one
another?
The Quranic
explanations in the
category of guidance
are so
affective, penetrating,
and so tender and
touching that they
uplift the spirit with
ardour, the heart with
delight, the intellect
with curiosity, and the
eyes with tears. Out of
numerous examples, study
the verse:
Then
your hearts became
hardened thereafter
and were like
stones, or even yet
harder; for there
are stones from
which rivers come
gushing, and others
split, so that water
issues from them,
and others crash
down in the fear of
God. God is not
heedless of the
things you do.
(2:74)
The
verse, addressed to the
Children of Israel,
means:
‘While
the hard rock poured
tears like a spring from
its twelve ‘eyes’ in
the face of a miracle of
the Prophet Moses, upon
him be peace, namely,
his staff, what has
happened to you that you
become indifferent in
the face of all the
miracles of that Prophet
with eyes dried, and
hearts hardened and
unfeeling?’
For the category of
silencing and
overcoming in argument,
consider the following
example out of hundreds:
If
you are in doubt
concerning that We
have sent down on
Our servant, then
bring a sura like
it, and call your
helpers and
witnesses, other
than God, if you are
truthful.
(2:23)
The
verse, briefly, means:
‘O
men and jinn! If you
have doubts concerning
the Divine authorship of
the Qur’an and fancy
it to be the product of
a human mind, come
forward and let an
unlettered one among you
who is like the one whom
you call Muhammad, the
Trustworthy, produce a
like of the Qur’an. If
he cannot do that, let
the most famous of your
writers or scholars try
it. If they too cannot
do it, let them all work
together and make use of
all the legacy of the
past and call on their
deities to help, let all
of your scientists,
philosophers,
sociologists,
theologians and men of
letters try their utmost
to produce the like of
the Qur’an. If they
too cannot do it, then
let them try(leaving
aside the miraculous
aspects of meaning of
the Qur’an, which are
inimitable(to produce a
work which can match the
Qur’an in the
eloquence of its word
order and composition.’
By Then bring
you ten suras the
like of it,
contrived
(11.13), the Qur’an
means:
‘It
is not stipulated that
the meaning of what you
contrive should be true,
you may fabricate
legends, myths or
stories. If you cannot
do that, not the like of
the whole Qur’an,
produce a work which can
match with only ten suras
of it. If you cannot do
that either, then
produce a work like only
one sura of it.
If that also is too
difficult, then produce
a work like one of its
short suras.
If
you cannot do that
either (and you will
never be able to)
although you are in dire
need of doing it because
your honor, religion,
nationality, lives, and
property will otherwise
be at risk, you will
perish in the world in
utter humiliation, and
as stated in the verse, Then
fear the Fire, whose
fuel is men and stones
(2:14), stay eternally
in the Hell, the fuel of
whose fire you and your
idols will provide.
Since you have now
understood that or the
Quranic expositions
in the category of
teaching and
explanation, they are so
wonderful, beautiful you
are unable in eight
degrees, you must admit
eight times that the Quran
is a miracle. Either
believe in it or keep
quiet and go to Hell!
Now, consider the
miraculous exposition of
the Quran in the
category of silencing
and say: There cannot be
and is no need for any
other exposition after
the exposition of the
Quran.
Out
of innumerable truths
contained in the verses
below, I will point out
only one as an example
of the Quran’s
way of silencing the
opponents:
Therefore
remind! By Your
Lord’s blessing
you are not a
soothsayer,
neither possessed.
Or do they say,
‘He is a poet
for whom we await
what fate will
bring?’ Say: ‘Await!
I shall be waiting
with you.’ Or do
their intellects
bid them to do
this? Or are they
an insolent,
rebellious people?
Or do they say,
‘He has invented
it?’ Nay, but
they do not
believe. Then let
them bring a
discourse like it,
if they speak
truly. Or were
they created out
of nothing? Or are
they the creators?
Or did they create
the heavens and
the earth? Nay,
but they have not
sure faith. Or are
your Lord’s
treasuries in
their keeping? Or
are they the
watching
registrars? Or
have they a ladder
whereon they
listen? Then let
any of them that
listened bring a
clear authority.
Or has He
daughters, and
they sons? Or ask
you them for a
wage, and so they
are weighed down
with debt? Or is
the Unseen in
their keeping, and
so they are
writing it down?
Or do they intend
a plot? But those
who unbelieve, are
they the
outwitted? Or have
they a god, other
than God? Glory be
to God, above that
which they
associate!
(52:29-43)
By
fifteen questions
introduced by Or, which
express a rejection and
impossibility, it
categorically silences
all the groups of
misguided people and
closes up all the
sources of doubt. It
leaves no opening
through which the
misguided can infiltrate
and no hole for them to
hide in. It tears up all
the veils under which
they may seek refuge,
and discloses their
fallacies. In each
separate section it
either falsifies
concisely the assertion
on which a certain group
of the unbelievers base
their unbelief or, since
the fallacy of that
assertion is evident, it
remains silent, or since
it refutes it in other
places in detail, it
contends itself with
mentioning it briefly.
For example, it refers
their assertion that the
Prophet is a poet, to
the verse, We have
not taught him poetry;
it is not seemly for him
(Ya Sin, 36.69),
and their claim stated
in the last section
finds its answer in the
verse, Were there
gods in earth and heaven
other than God, they
would surely go to ruin
(al-Anbiya’,
21.22).
In
the beginning, it says:
‘Communicate the
Divine Commandments. You
are not a soothsayer for
the words of a
soothsayer are confused
and consist in
conjecture. But you
speak the truth with
absolute certainty. Nor
could you be one
possessed; even your
enemies testify to the
perfection of your
intellect.’
Or do they say,
‘He is a poet
for whom we await
what fate will
bring?’ That is,
do they, like
senseless,
ignorant
unbelievers, say
that you are a
poet? Do they
await your ruin?
Say to them: ‘Await
you! I am also
waiting!’ The
great and
brilliant truths
that you bring are
free of the
fancies of poetry
and independent of
its artificial
embellishments.
Or do their
intellects bid
them to do this?
Or, like senseless
philosophers, do
they regard their
own intellects as
sufficient for
them and refuse to
follow you?
Whereas any sound
intellect requires
following you. For
whatever you speak
is reasonable.
However, it may be
impossible for
merely human
intellect to grasp
it.
Or are they an
insolent,
rebellious people?
Or like rebellious
wrongdoers, is the
reason for their
denial their
non-submission to
truth? However,
the end of the
leaders of
mutinous
wrongdoers, like
Pharaoh and
Nimrod, is known
to everybody.
Or do they say,
‘He has invented
it?’ Nay, but
they do not
believe: like
lying,
unscrupulous
hypocrites, do
they accuse you of
inventing the Qur’an?
Whereas they have
so far known you
as the most
trustworthy among
them and called
you Muhammad, the
Trustworthy.
Actually they have
no intention to
believe.
Otherwise, they
must find a like
of the Qur’an
among the works of
human mind.
Or were they
created out of
nothing? Or, like
the philosophers
of absurdity who
see existence as
absurd and
purposeless, do
they regard
themselves as
purposeless and
without a Creator,
and left to
themselves? Are
they blind, do
they not see that
the universe is
thoroughly ‘embellished’
with instances of
wisdom and
fruitfulness, and
creatures from the
minutest particles
to galaxies are
charged with
duties and
subjected to the
Divine
commandments?
Or are they the
creators? Or, like
the materialists
who are each like
a Pharaoh, do they
imagine themselves
to exist by
themselves, to be
self-subsistent,
and create
themselves all the
things they need,
and therefore
refuse belief and
worship? It seems
that they do
suppose themselves
to be each a
creator. Whereas
one who creates a
single thing must
be the creator of
every thing.
However,
self-conceit and
vanity have made
them foolish to
such infinite
degree that they
suppose one so
impotent as would
be defeated by an
insect or a
microbe to be
absolutely
powerful. Since
they have become
devoid of humanity
and the power of
reason to that
degree, they have
fallen lower than
animals, than even
inanimate objects.
That being so, do
not be grieved by
their denial.
Or did they create
the heavens and
the earth? Nay,
but they have not
sure faith. Or,
like the foolish
atheists who deny
the Creator, do
they deny God and
therefore not heed
the Qur’an? If
so, let them
either deny the
existence of the
heavens and the
earth or claim
themselves to have
created them! Let
them, by doing so,
show themselves to
be devoid of even
a bit of reason!
For there are
proofs of Divine
existence and
Unity as many as
stars in the
heavens and as
many as flowers on
the earth. That
means, they have
actually no
intention to have
sure faith and
accept the truth.
Otherwise, while
they know that ‘a
letter cannot be
without one who
writes it’, how
do they suppose
that this book of
the universe in
each letter of
which is inscribed
a book can be
without an author?
Or are the
treasuries of your
Lord in their
keeping? Or, like
some misguided
philosophers and
Brahmanists who
deny the free will
of Almighty God,
do they deny
Prophethood and
therefore not
believe in you? If
so, let them deny
all the prints of
wisdom, purpose,
order, purposeful
results, favors,
and the works of
mercy that are
observed
throughout the
universe and
manifest a
deliberate choice
and absolute will,
and all the
miracles of all
the Prophets! Or
let them claim to
have in their
keeping the
treasuries of the
favors bestowed on
all of the
creatures and show
that they are not
worthy of address!
If this is so, do
not feel sorrow
for their denial!
Or are they the
watching
registrars? Or,
like the haughty
Mu’tazilites who
gave to reason
absolute authority
in judging
matters, do they
imagine themselves
to be overseers
and inspectors of
the work of the
Creator and desire
to hold Him
responsible? Never
be disheartened
and do not mind
their denial,
which is vain!
Or have they a
ladder whereon
they listen? Then
let any of them
that listened
bring a clear
authority. Or,
like the
soothsayers and
‘spiritualists’
who follow jinn
and Satan, do they
imagine that they
have found out
another, different
route to the world
of the Unseen? Do
they fancy that
they have a ladder
by which to ascend
to the heavens,
which are closed
to their satans,
so that they deny
your heavenly
tidings? The
denial of such
people as those
who falsely claim
to have knowledge
of the Unseen
means nothing.
Or has He
daughters, and
they sons? Or,
like the
philosophers who
associate partners
with God by the
names of Ten
Intellects and the
Masters of Species
or like the
Sabeans who
ascribe some sort
of divinity to
heavenly objects
and angels or like
the heretics and
misguided who
attribute sons to
God Almighty, do
they assert that
angels are the
daughters to God,
which is contrary
to the necessary
existence of the
Unique,
Eternally-Besought
One, and to His
Unity and absolute
independence of
all, and to his
being the
Eternally
Besought-of-All,
and also to the
innocence and
servanthood of
angels who have
actually no sexes?
Do they imagine
angels to be their
intercessors with
God, that they do
not follow you?
Reproduction is
the means of
multiplication and
co-operation and
the continuance of
life, particular
to contingent and
mortal physical
created beings
like man, who is
impotent, enamored
of the world and
desirous of having
heirs to help him.
It is therefore
sheer fallacy and
foolishness to
ascribe fatherhood
to God, Who has
necessary and
eternal existence,
and is absolutely
free of all
physical qualities
and exempt from
multiplication and
division and Who
has an absolute
power free of the
intervention of
any kind of
impotence. Still
it is far greater
fallacy and
foolishness to
ascribe to Him the
fatherhood of
innumerable
daughters while
they themselves
regard having
daughters as a
shame to their
reputation and
vanity. That being
the truth, do not
mind the denial of
those who cherish
such fallacies!
Or ask you them
for a wage, and so
they are weighed
down with debt?
Or, like the
worldly who are
rebellious and
insolent, and who
are miserly and
ambitious, do they
find the
commandments you
convey to them as
unbearable so that
they keep away
from you? Do they
not know that you
expect your wage
from God only? Is
it difficult for
them that in order
to both receive
the blessing of
abundance in their
wealth and be
saved from the
envy and
maledictions of
the poor, they
should give to the
poor among them a
tenth or fortieth
of the wealth God
has bestowed on
them, so that they
refrain from
accepting Islam
because of the
obligation of zakat?
Their denial is
not worth
answering, and
their due is
punishment.
Or is the Unseen
in their keeping,
and so they are
writing it down?
Or, like those who
claim to have
knowledge of the
Unseen, and those
pseudo-intellectuals
who imagine their
guesses of future
events to be
certain, do they
not like your
tidings of the
Unseen! Do they
have books of the
Unseen, that they
do not accept your
book of the
Unseen? If so,
they are fancying
that the world of
the Unseen, which
is closed to
everybody else
save the
Messengers
receiving Divine
Revelation, and it
is impossible for
everyone to enter
by himself, is
open to themselves
and so they are
writing down the
information they
obtain from it.
Let it not
dishearten you
that conceited
people such as
those who do not
know their place
deny you. For the
truths you bring
will destroy their
fancies in a very
short time.
Or desire they to
outwit? The
unbelievers, they
are the outwitted.
Or, like
corrupted,
unscrupulous
hypocrites and
intriguing
heretics, do they
seek to deviate
people from
guidance through
trickery, so that
although they do
not themselves
believe it, they
deceive others
into believing
that you are a
soothsayer or a
magician or one
possessed? Do not
regard those
tricksters as
truly human and
therefore do not
be disheartened by
their denial and
tricks. Rather, be
more vigorous and
strive more! For
their trickery
deceives
themselves only.
Their apparent
success in
evil-doing is
temporary and a
gradual perdition
for them from God.
Or have they a
god, other than
God? Glory be to
God, above that
which they
associate. Or,
like the Magians
who believe in two
gods, one the
creator of
goodness, the
other, of evil,
and those who
attribute
everything to
causality and make
it a point of
support for them,
do they rely on
false deities and
contest with you?
Do they show
independence of
you?
That
means, they are blind to
the perfect order and
most delicate coherence
in the universe as
apparent as daylight,
which is stated in the
verse, were there
gods in the heavens and
the earth other than
God, they would surely
go to ruin (al-Anbiya’,
21.22). Actually, were
there two headmen or
elders in a village, two
governors in a town, two
sovereigns in a country,
there would remain no
order and everything
would go into chaos.
Whereas, from the wings
of a fly to the lamps of
the heavens, there is
such delicate order and
harmony in the universe
that there is no room
for associating partners
with God. So, since
those people act in a
way so far contrary to
reason and wisdom and
common sense and evident
realities, let their
denial not cause you to
give up communicating
the Divine Message.
Thus,
I have so far tried to
summarize only one of
the hundreds of jewels
of those verses which
contain a series of
truths. If I was able to
show a few more jewels
of them, you would
certainly conclude: ‘These
verses are each a
miracle.’
As for the Qur’anic
expositions in the
category of teaching
and explanation,
they are so wonderful,
beautiful and fluent
that the most ordinary
people can understand
the most profound truths
from its way of
explanation easily.
Truly,
the Quran of
miraculous exposition
teaches and explains
many profound and subtle
truths in a way so
direct and clear that it
comes as familiar to the
general way of seeing
things, and does not
offend general human
sentiments. Nor does it
impose itself against
generally held opinions.
Just as one chooses to
use appropriate words
when addressing a child,
so too the Quran,
which is described as
‘the Divine
condescension to the
human mind’,
condescends in style to
the level of those whom
it addresses, and
speaking in allegories,
parables, and
comparisons, makes the
most difficult Divine
truths and mysteries,
which the minds of most
profound philosophers
will not otherwise be
able to comprehend,
understandable by the
most common, unlettered
man. For example, in the
verse, The Most
Merciful One has settled
Himself on the Supreme
Divine Throne1
(Ta Ha, 20.5), it
shows Divine Lordship as
though it were a
Kingdom, and the aspect
of His Lordship in
administering the
universe as though He
were a King seated on
the throne of His
Sovereignty and
exercising His rule.
The
Quran, which is the
word of the Majestic
Creator of the universe
issuing from the highest
degree of manifestation
of His Lordship,
surpasses all the other
degrees, guiding those
who rise to those
degrees, and passing
through seventy thousand
veils to illuminate
each. Radiating
enlightenment to all
levels of understanding
and intelligence, it has
lived through epochs and
centuries and poured out
its meaning to all
people of different
abilities and scientific
levels. Moreover, it has
done so without losing
even an iota of its
perfect youth, its
infinite freshness and
delicacy, and has
continued to teach
people at all levels of
understanding, from the
lowest to the highest,
in an easy but most
skilful and
comprehensible way, and
satisfied them and
convinced them of its
truths. Thus, at
whatever side of this
miraculous book you
look, you will certainly
find one gleam or
another of its
miraculousness.
1.
Divine Throne (‘Arsh)
and Chair (Kursiyy)
are unknown to us.
However, since God
speaks according to our
level of understanding,
He usually speaks in
parables and metaphors.
Elsewhere, Bediuzzaman
says that earth is the
Throne of Life (‘Arsh
al-Hayat), and
water, the Throne of
Mercy (‘Arsh al-Rahma).
This means that in the
world God creates most
things from earth and
water, rain, is, in one
respect, the embodiment
of His Mercy. So, one of
the meanings of ‘Arsh
may be all the things
combined which God uses
in conveying and
executing His commands,
or it may be an
immaterial entity
enveloping all creation
from which God controls
and administers the
universe. While ‘Arsh
may be related to the
Divine ‘Empyrean’
World, Kursiyy
may be rather concerned
with other unseen worlds
of immaterial forms. God
knows the best.
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